Turn Back Time
by RegiGod
Summary: The best member of Team Rocket has been recruited to help Jessie and company with their problems with Ash Ketchum. Summary sucks story is better. R&R Shounenai Yaoi Slash Palletshipping AshGary GaryAsh ShiShi
1. Team Rocket

**RegiGod**: So a new story... my other reviewers are probably going to kill me for what I did to my other stories but enough about that! I hope you'll enjoy this story!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any characters that are involved in this story except for Josh and I don't own Pokemon either. I own the plot line.

**Warning**: This story contains slash/shounen-ai which means boy x boy and if you don't like it, please leave and never shadow my doorstep again!

**Coupling**: Palletshipping; Ash/Gary; ShiShi (A/N: Should I be any more clearer than this? XD)

**Beta Reader**: Don't have one and I will never have one. How else will I improve if I have one?

**Note**: Have fun reading this chapter and don't forget to leave me a review!

_Turn Back Time_

"How are we going to explain our latest failure to the boss Jessie? He's sure to kill us this time after all the money and time we've spent trying to go after the twerp's Pikachu!" James nervously stood next to the female Rocket as she began to dial the number that connected her directly to the boss.

"You know… why is it every time we call the boss, we call him in the telephone booth!? If yous two don't start doing things right, we're going hit rock bottom of Team Rocket's corporation!" Meowth screamed at the two as if he was the only one who hasn't done anything wrong during their adventures together. James pondered on what the talking cat had said and crossed his arms together. 

"I thought we were already rock bottom?" James asked quizzically. Jessie continued to ignore her two teammates as a voice spoke up from the other line.

"Hello. Yes, I would like to speak to the boss. Yes, I'll wait." Jessie placed her free right hand on her hip as she slowly tapped on herself waiting for the boss's voice to come. Meowth continued to look at the two humans but was more intrigued by the emotions that were going through James's face.

"What's wrong Jimmy? Yous look like you just saw a Gengar or somethin." James's eyes lowered to the cat as he spoke.

"I don't know Meowth but I have a feeling this phone call is going to bring bad things for us…" Meowth simply shrugged as he looked away.

"Aren't these phone calls always bad anyway?" The pokemon asked as if James wasn't there through all the times their boss has screamed and lectured them time after time again.

"This is different Meowth. It's like… something worse is going to occur after this phone call than they usually do." Meowth shrugged it off mentally as Jessie began to speak.

"Hello boss! How are you this fine day?" James couldn't help but bring himself closer to the phone so he could hear what the boss was saying to his teammate.

"Ugh, you again. What do you want this time?" Giovanni simply ignored her question and the nice talk Jessie usually does in the beginning of conversations to make her boss feel at ease. He knew that whatever this call was, it was going to be a bad report to him knowing these three bumbling idiots.

"Well sir… we're sorry to say this but we failed to capture the twerp's Pikachu with your latest robot." That's when both Meowth's and James's jaws just drop down out of disbelief. Did Jessie say that… bluntly? Without any tries of beating around the bush?

"YOU WHAT!?" Giovanni was right yet again. These fools had failed him once more. James could hear his boss sigh out of stress as he waited for either the boss or his teammate to carry on the conversation. "I've had it with your failures!" With the way their boss was screaming at them, Jessie has to put the phone away from her ear at least a few inches so she wouldn't become deaf. The three cringed at their boss's tone. "That's it! I'm sending the best member of Team Rocket down to your location and he will make sure you don't fail me again!" After that, all they could hear was a beeping noise coming out of the phone.

"The best member of Team Rocket? Wonder who that could be…" said Jessie as she hung up the phone and stepped out of the booth with James. "Anyway, what town are we in?" Both of her teammates shrugged their shoulders as she sighed that they weren't useful at all at the moment. She knew at least they were in the Johto region since they followed the twerp and his friends here but she couldn't recognize the town.

"I think we're in Cherrygrove City." said James. That caught the attention of Jessie as she stared at the male Rocket.

"And how exactly do you know that?" James pointed somewhere behind her making Jessie turn around. There it was… a pokemon center that had the words, 'Cherrygrove City' right above it. Gee, that wasn't obvious at all. Suddenly, their stomachs rumbled simultaneously as all of them chuckled in embarrassment. "Maybe we should get something to eat?"

"But how Jessie? We have no money at all!" exclaimed Meowth.

"Well maybe if you would learn pay day, we would have all the money we would need now wouldn't we!?" shouted Jessie which diverted the attention of a few people near them to her. Some people suddenly began to walk away when they saw and recognized the letter 'R' imprinted on their upper clothing.

"If yous two were better trainers, I would have learned it by now! But no, you can't even train your Arbok or your Weezing right." This got the two rockets enraged and as they were about to choke the cat, a voice appeared next to them.

"Uh Hi… are you three the people who called the boss saying you failed for the millionth time in a row wasting so much money for the corporation and requested my help?" The trio began to observe the intruder. He was near the twerp's height if not a little bit taller, wore a blue hat that had the legendary pokemon Rayquaza on it, had black spiky hair just like the twerp's, his eyes were brown and his face resembled a cute looking guy, a white collared shirt with blue stripes, long jeans, seemed to be the age around the twerp's and to top it all off, blue sneakers. This guy must really like the color blue whoever he is…

"So what if we are?" Meowth asked in a defensive tone at the way the intruder had described them.

"Well I'm Josh." The boy happily exclaimed as he shook the trio's hands one after another. "I'm here to help you with your problems!" The trio blinked their eyes in bewilderment.

"You can't be the best Team Rocket member are you? I mean, you look so young!" James said as the three of them continued to blink at him.

"Yep, that's me! I look young but I'm actually 17. Pretty cool huh?" Neither one of the trio knew what to say to that.

"Er… right." Again, the trio's stomachs rumbled, this time much louder than it was, and all Josh could do was laugh.

"Sounds like you three are hungry. Want to stop by a restaurant as you tell me who this twerp and his Pikachu are?" The three nodded gleefully as Josh smiled once more and led them to a nearby restaurant named, Portobello. Behind Josh, the three began to whisper with one another.

"For being the best member of Team Rocket, he sure is nice." said Meowth as both Jessie and James agreed.

"And he sure is young."

"And he's cute too for his age." James and Meowth stared at Jessie in a weird way but Jessie was oblivious to their looks as she was only wanted to eat at the moment.

"I always expected the best member to be a snob or something with a mean personality." stated Meowth. The three finally stopped whispering as they entered the restaurant which seemed to be of a first class restaurant.

"Well, here we are." Josh turned around to face the trio who seemed to be nervous for a reason he did not know. "Is something wrong?" James merely pointed at his shirt which had the red letter 'R' on it. The teenager simply chuckled which confused James and Jessie. "Don't worry. If you guys didn't know, this restaurant is owned and operated by Team Rocket members." As they walked further in, one of the waiters soon approached them immediately as he saw Josh and led them to a table nearby as the trio looked all around.

"What an impressive place. I didn't know our group had restaurants." They soon sat down near a table given to them by the waiter suited for four people. Josh sat directly in front of James and Jessie in front of Meowth.

"Really? We have restaurants placed all around in both the Kanto and Johto region but there aren't any in the Hoenn region." The last region that was said left the trio's minds blank. They have never heard of this region before until now and by Josh's facial expression, he expected that of them. "And it appears your little pokemon here can talk in our language."

"Huh? Hey that's right! How come you weren't surprised when I started speaking human to ya?" Josh shrugged and looked at the menu placed in front of him on the table. "For a person like me, I should expect everything… even if they seem outlandish." Outlandish? This guy sure knows some big words…

"If you don't mind me asking…" Josh looked up from the menu to the girl seated to the left of him. "Where's the Hoenn region?"

"Well, it's a bit far off from here but if you leave from New Bark Town and head on south, you can catch a boat there that you can take to go to the Hoenn region. Not many people know about that place yet… or of its pokemon." James and Jessie glanced at each other before looking at their menu quickly ordering their meals when the waiter arrived.

* * *

A few minutes later…

"Now that we've gotten to know each other real well, why don't you tell me about this twerp?" Jessie glared at something behind me but I didn't take a look, yet.

"He's right behind you." She pointed at the spot where she was glaring at a few seconds ago as Josh turned around. All he saw was another trio comprised of two guys and a girl. The girl had red hair, a yellow shirt, red strappings on her shirt, and really short blue jeans. One of the guys had a color between brown and black for his hair and his face seemed pretty tough. He wore a green shirt inside of his brown vest and wore brown baggy pants. The other boy wore a red and white hat with a black shirt and a blue and white jacket on. He too had black spiky hair like Josh's and in Josh's opinion, he was pretty cute out of the three. He also wore long pants jeans and his face seemed determined to do just about anything.

"Yes… but who's the twerp?" His question was soon answered when he saw a Pikachu atop the cute boy's shoulder. "Ah, let me guess. It's the boy with the Pikachu on his shoulder isn't it?" The Rocket trio simply made an agreeing sound as Josh turned back around to see his peers finished with their meals. "That was rather quick. You three must have been hungry." The trio chuckled in embarrassment but their expression soon changed a second later.

"So now that the twerp is here, you can take him down!" Josh looked at them with one eye closed as he took a sip of his water.

"I'm here to make sure you do your job right; not do it for you. Besides, I'm sure you can take him down easily on our turf, don't you?" Josh winked at the three of them as they soon understood what he meant. "They'll be around at the back of the building in about ten minutes so get your butts moving and ready yourselves until that time comes."

"How do you know that?" Josh winked at James which made him feel uneasy.

"Trust me, I know. Just get moving and if you need any help, just call a waiter or someone in black to help out. They ARE team rocket members as well and can battle." The trio ran towards the back of the restaurant as Josh finished up his meal quickly. He can only wonder if this trio was really as bad as the boss had told him over the phone or if he was exaggerating a whole lot. Whatever the case was, Josh wanted to know who the twerp was… and that's when he realized something. He didn't even get his real name from those dimwits. He sighed exasperatedly as he stood up from the table not having to pay for the bill since he was the best member of Team Rocket and can do just about anything. He walked over to the table where it held the three people that Jessie and James could not beat at all. "What a cute Pikachu! Mind if I pet him?"

"I don't think you would want to do that." The twerp said while chuckling. "Pikachu doesn't really like strangers." The three of them had their gazes on Josh as he stared at the yellow pokemon. Pikachu, of course, stared back at this new person.

"That's too bad. Your Pikachu seems to be in pretty good shape and strong as well." Josh did not hesitate in giving a compliment to a cute boy since after all, he was bisexual which was something not a lot of people knew. "You must be a pretty good trainer."

"Thanks." The twerp smiled which made Josh smile as well.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Josh. I come from the region of Hoenn." He placed his hand in front of the twerp as he did the same.

"Nice to meet you Josh. My name's Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town." Ash gladly shook his new friend's hand as he began to introduce his two friends. Josh finally knew the name of the twerp and it seemed fitting for someone like him. He kind of liked the name actually. "And these are my two friends."

"Hey. I'm Brock from Pewter City."

"And I'm Misty from Cerulean City."

"Nice to meet the both of you as well." That wasn't the truth at all… in fact, Josh was only interested in the boy named Ash Ketchum.

"Say… you said you were from Hoenn right?" asked Brock as Josh nodded. "Isn't that a bit far off from here? I heard that region has pokemon that aren't found in Kanto or in Johto."

"That's correct. There are pokemon there that can't be found in the Kanto or Johto region and yes, it's almost a week cruise to get here from Hoenn."

"That's pretty cool! You wouldn't happen to have any of those pokemon here from that region would you?" The Rocket member smiled at Ash's interest.

"I actually do but I wouldn't want to show them here. It would get a lot of people's attention and I wouldn't want that." The trio nodded in understanding but that didn't stop Ash from asking more questions.

"Can we see them outside then?" Josh thought about that for a moment and made his decision.

"I don't know… maybe if you really want to. We should go around back where there will be less people to see us." The trio made shouts of excitement and anxiety as they finished their meals hurriedly without hesitation. 'Wow… the people here can really finish their meals quickly…' thought Josh.  


* * *

Meanwhile… behind the restaurant

"Did any of you notice that guy didn't have the letter 'R' anywhere on his clothing like the rest of us does?" Both James and Meowth nodded and that only left Jessie to wonder why he didn't have the letter on him.

"Does it matter? As long as he's wit us, we got nothing to worry about." Jessie looked at the cat as James agreed.

"Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't worry about small things should I?" Jessie said as she laughed at herself.

"You got that right! You look ugly when you worry." A line was cut and that furiously made Jessie upset as she began to chase Meowth around like a game of cat and mice.

"Team Rocket!? What are you doing here!?" Ash's voice was sound through the trio's ears and that only made them smile deviously.

"Looks like it's our time to shine!" James and Jessie soon stood next to one another with their backs facing one another.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!" Josh was just… shocked at what he had witnessed. What was this…? Even though it made no sense, he kind of liked the motto. All he thought was that there was something missing in it…

"Don't you think after listening to your dumb motto a million times, we would have known it by now?" screamed the red head as James and Jessie took a look at each other.

"Yeah… why do we say the same thing over and over?" asked James and Jessie's mouth was hanging.

"James! That is our motto you're talking about! It is what we say to put the fear in people's hearts when we are about to strike!"

"As if anyone is afraid of you…" mumbled Misty to herself but Jessie caught wind of what she had said.

"How dare you say that to us! We'll make you pay and this time, this will be the last time you'll mock us! Go Arbok!" Jessie threw a pokeball in front of her and a blinding light came out, revealing a snake like pokemon.

"You too Weezing! Show them what you got!" James too threw a pokeball and another blinding light came out revealing a balloon like pokemon.

"Haven't you two learned already? You'll never take my Pikachu away! Go Pikachu!" Pikachu obeyed as he jumped off his master's shoulder and prepared himself for battle. "Pikachu, use your thunder and finish this in one strike!"

"Pika… chu!" The yellow rat pokemon soon sent out an incredible energy of electricity right at Arbok and Weezing who seem to have fainted quickly after being shocked just once. Josh slapped himself on the face… he could not believe how pathetic their pokemon were. That Arbok and Weezing definitely need more training…

"Arbok!" Jessie cried out for her pokemon as James did the same for his Weezing. "Meowth, get out there and do something!" Meowth looked at Jessie in a nervous way.

"Meowth? What can I do?" Jessie quickly looked at Josh and he could only hope that she wasn't about to call him for something.

"Meowth, get help." Jessie said simply without removing her eyes at Josh who from this perspective was taller than the twerp but shorter than that guy called Brock. The cat nodded as he ran back into the building and a few seconds later, waiters came out along with Meowth.

"What the…" Ash was apparently shocked by the sudden appearance of waiters as they suddenly removed their clothing to reveal black clothes with white gloves and shoes and a red letter 'R' on their chests which shocked Ash and his group of friends.

"Get that Pikachu! It's the strongest Pikachu ever and we need to deliver that pokemon to the boss!" commanded Jessie as the group of "waiters" threw pokeballs in front of them revealing multiple pokemon.

"This doesn't look good Ash." said Brock warily.

"Don't worry. We can handle this." Josh looked at Ash mystified at his determination. And at the same time, it only made Josh infatuated with Ash even more. "Go Charizard!" He threw a pokeball next to his Pikachu revealing a huge, red, fire-breathing dragon. "All right guys. We need to work together to win this!" Both Pikachu and Charizard nodded.  


* * *

A few minutes later…

Josh was surprised once more. Ash Ketchum, the twerp, had just beaten all those waiters with skill. This boy was really something. Their pokemon, including them, lay fainted on the ground. Jessie was not at all happy about this development which caused her to do something Josh did not like at all.

"Josh come on! Are you going to help us capture that Pikachu?" Ash, Misty, and Brock turned to Josh and seemed to be confused. He sighed sadly… knowing that now he wouldn't be able to get close to this cute boy he had just found today. He walked from the side of the twerps and to the side of Team Rocket.

"Josh?" Ash asked in a tone as if Josh had betrayed him. His back was still facing them and he could only stare at the trio whom he had fed today.

"I'm sorry that we couldn't meet under different circumstances Ash but perhaps someday in the future, we'll talk with one another again. For now, it is time for us to leave." James and Jessie gasped at his decision.

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"You're not going to help us!?" asked Jessie angrily.

"Of course I'm not. I did say that I was here to ensure you do your job right, not do it for you. And apparently, I've failed you two. Now come along now, we have things to do." Josh began to walk out of the alleyway and the trio quickly followed in his footsteps without a word. As soon as Josh turned the alleyway, he bumped into an unknown person harshly.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Josh shook his head by the bump to see a boy around his height with brown hair, a purple shirt, something that looked like a yin-yang pendant hung around his neck, blue pants, and brown boots. This boy was cute as well in his opinion.

"How dare you speak in such a way to Team Rocket's greatest member?" Jessie exclaimed as Josh only sweat dropped.

"It's okay Jessie. It was my fault and for that, I apologize." Josh smiled but the other boy didn't take his apology. Instead, it seemed he had other plans on how to handle Josh.

"The greatest member in Team Rocket eh? Then I challenge you to a pokemon battle! Right here, right now! If I win, I'll be known everywhere for defeating Giovanni's next man." The trio cheered Josh on to battle even though they completely had no idea if Josh really deserved that title. Suddenly, the other trio whom Josh had met in the restaurant ran out of the alleyway behind us and gasped for some reason.

"Gary! What are you doing here?" So Gary was his name eh… that name also seems fitting for a person like him as well thought Josh. They must know each other obviously.

"Well if it isn't Ashy-boy. I'm just about to battle Team Rocket's best member and win while you watch and be my cheerleader." Ash growled and began throwing insults at the brown haired boy but it seemed it didn't faze him one bit. Before Josh knew it, Jessie, James, and Meowth had disappeared. Looks like Josh is going to have to find them… so much work to do today.

"Gary, I hope you lose!"

"That's a dream that will never come true." Gary said flatly as he grabbed a pokeball on his waist. "Go Nidoking!" A purple colored pokemon appeared in front of Josh as he too grabbed a pokeball on his waist.

"We need a judge you know." Brock took a step forward and merely said, "I'll be the judge. This will be a 3 on 3 match between Gary Oak from Pallet Town and Josh, the greatest member in Team Rocket." Soon, the attention of people came to them as Josh could only smile.

"Go Gardevoir!" The sight of Josh's first pokemon was awarded with "Ooh" and "Ah." Gary took out his PokeDex but it was no use as his PokeDex knew nothing about Josh's Gardevoir.

"No matter. I'll still beat you!" Soon a shout was heard from the sidelines.

"That's a dream that will never come true!" Gary growled at Ash's remark as his focus came back to his Nidoking.

"Nidoking, horn drill!"

"Gardevoir, psychic attack." Soon enough, Nidoking's feet were no longer on the ground and instead, he was hovering in the air in pain by the psychic attack. In just a moment, Nidoking fell to the ground and fainted.

"Nidoking is out! Gardevoir is the winner!" Gary was now at a loss for words at what he saw. Just like everyone else who was watching this… it was amazing that Brock was still able to speak.

"Return Nidoking! Go Arcanine! Fire Blast!" Again, the same thing happened to the fire pokemon. Arcanine soon fainted after a psychic blast from Gardevoir. Gary was now shaking with fear and everyone on the side lines were so quiet that you could hear an ant skittering along the ground. Josh was still grinning like crazy as Gary recalled his pokemon and brought his head down.

"Arcanine is out! Gardevoir is the winner!" Josh looked at Ash and he could see that he was filled with fear if not excitement that was causing him to shake a bit.

"I… I c-can't beat-t you… I give up." Josh turned back to see Gary who had seem to lost all hope. Brock raised his right hand as he cleared his throat for what he was about to say.

"The winner is Josh!" Josh's grin grew as he recalled his pokemon. This was a quick battle…

"Return Gardevoir!" His eyes never left Gary as he began to speak." You did your best Gary but trust me when I say this, I'm in a whole other league. It would be unwise of you if you let this defeat get the best of you." In Josh's words, he was meaning every word of it. Soon, a balloon appeared above Josh with a ladder leading up to it right next to him. Josh looked up to see James looking down and knew that this was his ride. He climbed the ladder up and in the next minute, they were gone.

**RegiGod**: So, don't forget to review and tell me if you enjoyed it or not!


	2. Tough Decisions

**RegiGod**: So... not a lot of reviewers but a lot of people reading... so sad. Reviews are what makes me happy!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the characters of Pokemon but I do own Josh and the plot.

**Warning**: This story contains slash/shounen-ai which means boy x boy. If you don't like it, please leave and never come back here.

**Pairing:** Palletshipping / Ash/Gary / ShiShi

**Note**: Enjoy and I hope more reviews will come this time!_  
_

* * *

_Turn Back Time_

**Josh's POV**

"What kind of a pokemon was that!?" asked Meowth who could only stare at me from the easy victory I had just won. I wasn't too concerned on winning at all during that battle; to tell the truth, all I really wanted to do was to teach that Gary boy some sort of a lesson. I mean, he had such an ego saying he could beat me… me!

"I think he's out of it…" I was brought back to reality as soon as James had mentioned that I wasn't myself at the moment.

"Oh sorry about that. Um… well Meowth, to answer your question, that pokemon hails from the Hoenn region." I quickly took a look out of the basket this air balloon was carrying and saw that we were still in the same town. Hmm…

"I know that obviously! What's the name of that pokemon? Is it a legendary pokemon?" I decided to ignore Jessie's questions for the time being and looked down below and realized that we only moved a block down from where I was picked up. I sighed mentally to myself at how I was in here for about five minutes and haven't gone almost anywhere but as I looked down the block, I could see Ash and his friends sitting at a table in front of a restaurant with Gary sitting across from them. This could be interesting…

"WILL YOU ANSWER ME!?" The shout suddenly made me jump up from shock which in turn caused the trio to grab my clothes, making sure that I wasn't about to fall. As soon as I recovered from the scream, I slowly went backwards into the basket.

"Yeah maybe next time… you shouldn't shout at me when I'm looking down below hanging from an air balloon at least 500 feet up in the air." I was pulled into the safe confines of the basket as I laid my eyes on the trio and tried to calm myself from the shock.

"Then answer my question!" Boy, this girl really has an attitude… I wonder if that's the reason why they lose their battles to Ash all the time. Or maybe it's because of this hot air balloon… this thing is so last century for Mew's sake! Why don't they use a helicopter or something? These guys must be poor… so sad.

"Fine… geez. What was your question again?" I asked while rubbing the back of my head as I chuckled. Jessie annoyingly sighed but I didn't care if she was annoyed at me or not. I wanted to get down as soon as possible and eavesdrop on Ash's little conversation.

"I said what is the name of that pokemon and is that a legendary pokemon?" Jessie annoyingly asked once more as James and Meowth were looking in the direction of Ash and the others down below. Were they even going to listen to my answer?

"The name of my pokemon is Gardevoir and no, he's not a legendary pokemon." The girl in front of me seemed a bit disappointed at my last answer but she gave a smile. Maybe it's because my pokemon is strong but whatever the reason was, I suddenly took the ladder near my feet and threw it down below in the alley where Ash had defeated all those Rockets. My action was received by gasps as I started on my way down.

"What do you think you're going?" James peered down at me as I looked up at him from the ladder and stopped my descent.

"I'm going down… where do you think I'm going?" Abruptly, the cat pokemon laid himself on James's shoulder.

"I thought yous said yous was going to help us with the twerp?" I smiled as I continued on my way down.

"What do you think I'm doing?" This left the trio in the basket wordless as I had finally reached the bottom. Time for me to be stealthy!

**Ash's POV**

"Gary? Are you okay?" It's been a few minutes since the battle between him and Josh had ended and he hasn't said a word since then. I felt a bit worried for my old best friend.

"Ash, maybe now's not the best time you know?" I looked over to Brock who also looked concerned. I was confused at what he had said to me. "Gary just lost to Team Rocket's best member… can you imagine how that feels?" I looked over to Gary once more who did nothing but stare at the table in front of him. He didn't even move a step when Josh got picked up from those Team Rocket losers at the end… I had to help Gary move to this table we were currently sitting in. Ignoring what Brock had advised me, I tried once more.

"Gary, it's going to be all right. You did your best… I know you did." Finally, I got a response. I smiled when Gary lifted his eyes to meet with mine. Suddenly, his personality changed to that rival bitch that I've always hated. How did you change so much in such short a time Gary… and why did you break your promises to me?

"Pft whatever loser. I could have beaten him any day if it wasn't for you!" I was taken aback by this. Me?

"Wha?" I was confused at how Gary was blaming me for his loss.

"You heard me kid!" He suddenly stood up from his chair and glared at me with such hate in his eyes that I could feel a knife stabbing into my heart multiple stops without stopping to take a breath. "If it wasn't for your presence, I would have beaten him! I am sick of your childish behavior every time I see you! Can't you grow up for once!? You always act like a child!" By this time, droplets of tears were slowly dripping down my cheeks. "Oh look! Did I make you cry like the wittle baby you are? _Please._"

"Leave him alone Gary!" Misty shouted. I looked down as I grabbed my jeans and made a fist with them. I couldn't stop my tears from falling… not this time.

"Well if it isn't Ashy-boy's little girlfriend coming to the rescue! What's wrong baby? Can't defend yourself like a man?" I wiped the tears that came falling down like a waterfall but I just couldn't stop it. I soon heard Misty stand up from her seat and Brock did the same as well.

"I think you're going a little too far this time Gary. Ash deserves no blame for your loss!" Brock is such a good friend… and so was Misty.

"Oh you think do you? That's a surprise! I had no idea you had the capability to comprehend anything! But you're right about one thing… Ashy-boy doesn't deserve _not_ only the blame for my loss but for everything wrong that has happened in my life! If I didn't meet him when we were little kids, I could have been the pokemon master by now! I so wish I hadn't even met the thickheaded little brat! I mean look at him! He's still crying! What a baby!" I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take the way Gary kept throwing insults at me like I'm not even human! Like… we didn't share a happy childhood together. I stood up and I looked at him straight in the eyes even though tears still kept falling from mine.

"Y-you wish you ha-ha-hadn't met me-me huh? Well f-fine! I'll gr-grant y-yo-you that wish of yours!" And that's when I ran. I didn't care where I was going but I ran. I soon saw the forest and I took the chance to run into this place and leave Gary behind. If he didn't care a single thing about me, then why should I care about him? I could feel Pikachu hanging on as hard as he could onto my clothing as I ran… ran from my one true love whom I'll never get in my lifetime.

A few hours later…

I don't know how many hours had passed… all I knew was that I was still crying from what Gary had said to me. He wished he had never met me… I could still feel my heart breaking into so many pieces right now.

"Pika… chu…" I sniffed and took a look at my best friend who sitting on the log besides me. He looked sad for me… I sometimes think that he was the only one who understood me in times like these.

"Don't worry P-pikachu… I'll be okay." I feigned a smile and I knew my loyal pokemon wasn't going to buy my excuse as he laid his head onto my side. At least I know this is a friend who will never leave my side.

"Well hello there Ash!" I looked up quickly at the happy voice that seemed like it had appeared in front of me… and it did. Josh was standing in front of me with his Gardevoir following right behind him. I stood up in defense as I grabbed a pokeball by my side and as I was about to throw it, Gardevoir's eyes had lit up and I was unable to move any longer. What the hell… "Gardevoir… he's not going to hurt me. Release him." A second later, I had regained the ability to move once more but in doing so, I fell over flat on my face. Forgot his pokemon was of the psychic type…

"Pika pi!" I could feel Pikachu tapping my head gently as I groaned from the pain.

"Sorry about that. Here, let me help you." I looked up and as I did so, I saw his hand stretched out and I took it. I stood up slowly with Josh's help and sat back down on the log I was sitting on a few moments ago. By this time, some tears were still falling.

"W-what do you want from me Josh? Do you want to steal my Pikachu t-too?" I cursed at myself for stuttering like that in front of Team Rocket's best member. He was probably going to make fun of me too like Gary did.

"No. Of course not." I stared at his face as I could tell that his words were sincere. I didn't know how I knew… but I felt as though I could trust him. It was as if, he was different from the others in some way. "I came here in case you wanted to talk you know. I saw that you had suddenly ran away with tears in your eyes so I figured I should help you out."

"And why is that?" I spat out defensively. And how the hell did he even see me run away? I thought he left in that balloon?

"Well when a friend sees his friend crying for some reason, that person is likely to help his friend out, isn't that right?" Friend? I blinked my eyes a couple of times to get that thought across. This guy… considered me as a friend? He suddenly sat next to me on the left as his Gardevoir followed suit. Pikachu decided to sit in my lap as I hugged him gently. He made a sound that meant that he was enjoying the hug which made me smile and my tears lessen.

"I guess so…" I was still going to be cautious around this guy now that I've found out he was with the evil organization Team Rocket. I looked past Josh and at his Gardevoir who looked pretty strong and well trained.

"So… want to talk about it?" I looked down at the grass laid out in front of me. "I'll take that gesture as a no." He chuckled to himself before speaking once more. "Do you want to look at some of the pokemon I brought with me from the Hoenn region?" That piqued my interest immediately as I looked at him again. "Well do you?" I nodded shyly as he took a pokeball from his waist and threw it carelessly in front of him revealing a small yellow pokemon. "This pokemon's name is Minun."

"Minun!" This pokemon looked a lot like Pikachu and it looked like this Minun also piqued Pikachu's interest as he jumped from my lap and started to play with the pokemon. I smiled once more and I felt as though I was getting better… but I wasn't. Gary still hated me… Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my shoulder as I glanced at Josh.

"You okay?" I nodded as he threw another pokeball revealing another pokemon. "This guy's name is Blaziken. A fire/fighting type pokemon." A fire and a fighting type pokemon? I've never seen a type combo like that before. "You seem confused."

"No… not at all. It's just that I'm surprised to see a type combo like that." Josh chuckled lightly as Minun began clapping for Pikachu who was trying to get an apple down from a nearby tree.

"When Minun claps his hands for a pokemon, do you know what that does?" I nodded. "Well it helps the pokemon for whom Minun is clapping for right now which is Pikachu become stronger in every way possible as long as Minun continues to clap. Pretty cool huh? Watch. Minun, stop clapping for a moment please." Minun looked a bit displeased with what Josh had said but stopped obediently. "Tell your Pikachu to do a Thundershock at one of the apples."

"All right. Pikachu, use Thundershock at an apple!" The apple fell to the ground quickly and it was half burnt I think.

"Now watch this. Minun, now you can clap." Minun looked pleased to do so and Pikachu seemed to be enjoying the clapping he was receiving. "Now tell your Pikachu to do another Thundershock."

"Pikachu, do it one more time!" Right before my very eyes, Pikachu's Thundershock looked like a Thunderbolt and it nearly burnt the apple to a crisp!

"Cool right?" I nodded slowly as Minun went over to Pikachu to try to go for an apple without using its attacks. That ability was amazing. "So… wanna talk now?" I looked down to the grass again thinking whether I should or not. Why does this guy want to help me out? And can I even trust him like he says I can?

**Gary's POV**

"Gary, if we don't find Ash soon, I will never forgive you for what you have done to him this time!" Ash's redhead friend was in my face screaming at me nonstop ever since Ash ran away. I didn't need her to tell me what I did wrong over and over again. I was crying myself on the inside already… why… why did I blame Ash for my loss? I shouldn't have done that to him… and this time, I've really pushed him over the edge.

"Don't worry Misty. He couldn't have gone far in this forest. We'll find him." I really hoped so… if something bad happens to Ash, I'll never forgive myself. This girl named Misty finally got off my nerves as she went to join Brock who was currently looking behind a bush. I looked up in the trees just in case he decided to climb up one but he wasn't in any of the trees that I've looked at. Where could he be? I sighed mentally by both the heartache and headache I was receiving.

As I walked past a couple of trees… I began to contemplate on my friendship with my old best friend. It's gone down the drain ever since I've pushed him away… all because I was too afraid of my feelings for him… too afraid of rejection. I thought that maybe if I could fill him up with hate that would make me feelings disappear but instead, every time I had hurt him, it only got worse. My heart felt a pang every time I threw an insult at his face and earlier today was the worst. All because I lost to a member of Team Rocket… I swear I'll make that guy pay. Now… I can only hope that Ash doesn't hate me but I know for a fact that he does… after today, of course he would. Anyone would be upset if they were in Ash's position. My train of thought was lost when I suddenly heard a couple of voices nearby. I approached the source of the voices very quietly as to not let them be aware of my presence.

"Ugh! Where did he go!?" There was some rustle in the leaves before another voice responded.

"How am I supposed to know? He just ran off without telling us where he was going! If we find him again, I'm going to kill him! Who does he think he is just leaving us like that?" I looked past a couple of trees to see Team Rocket, the ones who always try to get Ash's Pikachu, standing in a meadow. Hmm… maybe these three will lead me to Ash… this is the best lead I have so far.

"Meowth, can't you smell for him?" asked the blue haired man.

"What do you think I am Jimmy? A filthy dog? Besides, I ain't got no nose." The red haired woman seemed to be getting more upset with every minute passing by.

"We're getting no where! Go Arbok!" A bright light appeared quickly as the pokemon appeared out of its pokeball. "Arbok, use dig and find Josh immediately! Once you have, come back to us and lead us to him." Arbok nodded as he dug into the ground and began on his search. Hopefully, Ash will be somewhere nearby.

**Ash's POV**

I felt a bit better after explaining to Josh about my dreams on becoming a pokemon master and about my friendship with Gary Oak while we were kids and how we became rivals soon after… but I still didn't tell him about my crush for Gary. And I don't think I will anytime soon. My heart was still aching up to this minute and as I looked up to see Pikachu and Minun playing with one another, I felt a smile creep up my face.

"Ash, I know this may seem abrupt since we just met but if you come with me and travel across the Johto region, I will bring you closer on obtaining your dream and perhaps, bring you closer to your crush." I was instantly shocked at what he had just said to me. My crush…?

"Wh-what do you mean, 'my crush?'" I felt Pikachu jump into my lap as Minun did the same to Josh.

"You will still be able to battle the gym leaders to obtain the badges and I'll make sure while you're with me, you will not join Team Rocket at all and make sure you're in good hands." Is he… ignoring my question? "But to answer your question… isn't your crush Gary Oak?" I could feel my cheeks become a bit warm as I heard him chuckle while Pikachu seemed to be confused. "Come on Ash. It's pretty obvious that you really like him with the way you were describing him." Was… it really? "I know that leaving your friends will be a tough decision but then again, to obtain your dreams, you will always have to make tough decisions along the way." He's right… but I can't just leave my friends just to go with him! I mean, they've traveled with me for so long that I don't think I should just leave them like that. "If you want Ash, you can send them a letter saying that you'll be leaving them." I groaned mentally… what should I do? Suddenly, a snake like pokemon appeared out of the ground and it looked like an Arbok.

"Arbok!" The pokemon said its own name before it went back into the hole it just made.

"Looks like you only have a few minutes to decide whether or not you'll be coming with me." I looked at him quizzically as he stared at me. "That was Jessie's Arbok and when they reach me, I'm going to have to leave." He quickly laid his hands on my shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes firmly. "Ash, I will make sure that Pikachu will not be taken away as well. And if you want to know why I want to help you, let's just say it's in my nature to do so." He gave a quick smile before he stood up and recalled his Minun and Blaziken back into their pokeballs. "I'll try to delay their arrival to give you more time to think on this and I'll leave my Gradevoir here to protect you okay?" I nodded slowly as he ran off into the direction where Arbok came out of.

"Pika… chu." I looked down to see Pikachu just as confused as I was.

"Pikachu… should I go with Josh or should I stay with my friends? I mean, if I travel with my friends, I know what's going to happen… I'll be challenging gym leaders like I did with them in the Kanto region but with Josh… anything could happen with him." Pikachu looked down and seemed to be thinking hard about this question just as I was doing. I suddenly felt Gardevoir laid its hand on me and I soon heard a voice come out of nowhere.

"If you ask me, I think you should travel with Josh." I looked at Gardevoir and began to wonder if this pokemon was talking to me. "Yes… I'm the one talking to you." I suddenly jumped out of my seat in shock.

"Pika!" I looked down to see Pikachu rubbing his head on the grass and quickly apologized to my friend as he gave me thumbs up. I picked up Pikachu as I sat down in my seat once more with caution of the pokemon sitting besides me.

"There's no reason to be afraid of me Ask Ketchum." If this pokemon can read my thoughts… then I should talk using my thoughts. Okay… here I go. How are you talking to me?

"I'm speaking to you through telepathy and only you can hear me. I can tell that you as a trainer care for your pokemon deeply and would do anything, even if meant sacrificing your life, to ensure their safety and that's a characteristic that both you and Josh share. You, as a person, are a kind, fun, childish, loving human being. I just can't comprehend how someone could have the ability to hate someone like you but then again, humans have different personalities that interact with one another differently and similarly." I smiled at all the compliments I was receiving… Thanks for the compliments. I have a question… why do you think I should go with Josh?

"Knowing him, he'll help you become closer with your pokemon, how to make them stronger, how to make you stronger both as a person and as a trainer, and like he said, help you get closer to this person named Gary Oak." I smiled at the thought of that becoming true. Can he really do all that? The pokemon nodded as Pikachu snuggled his head into my lap. I have one more question before I make my decision… does anyone hate Josh at all?

"Of course people hate him. People hate him because of the way he's always helping others and how a lot of people like him. You're similar to him in this way but I think only a few people hate you." I looked down at Pikachu who seemed to be willing to back me up on whatever decision I make. Then I've made my decision.

**Gary's POV**

"You found him?" The red haired woman smiled as they all jumped gleefully. "Lead us to him then!"

"There's no need." Unexpectedly, Josh came out past some trees and stood near the trio. Ugh, I shouldn't be here waiting for Ash… I should be looking for him! I could have found him by now!

"There you are! We've been looking all over for you! Where in the pokemon world did you go off to? First we saw you eavesdropping on the twerp's conversation then we saw you run off chasing after the twerp into the forest!"

"Yeah! And that's where we lost you!" Wait… that guy eavesdropped on our conversation and followed Ash? Does that mean he knows where Ash could be?

"Uh well… I was talking to someone." Someone?

"Someone?" The trio asked the same question I was just thinking of.

"Yes… someone." Grr… this guy is avoiding the question. Could this someone be Ash?

"Well can you tell us who this someone is?" Josh nodded and that's when I got upset. This someone could be Ash and this guy isn't going to say who it was! I'll make him tell me who it is! I quickly jumped near the meadow and threw a pokeball revealing the pokemon Magmar.

"Who the…"

"What the…" I ignored the remarks the trio were making as I focused my attention on the so called best trainer of Team Rocket.

"Who is this someone that you were talking to?!" I yelled at Josh and he seemed to be smiling for some weird reason that I really didn't care much about.

"Do you think you three can take care of this nuisance for me?" Both of the rockets nodded as the blue haired man threw a pokeball out.

"Definitely! Go Weezing! Sludge attack now!"

"Arbok, use poison sting!"

"Magmar, use fire blast on Arbok and dodge that sludge!" My pokemon was able to get a fire blast off and obtain a direct hit off of Arbok and dodge the attack Weezing had used.

"Arbok! Snap out of it and use dig!"

"Weezing, use smokescreen!" Before I knew it, the entire area where we were in was all smoggy and I couldn't see a thing at all. I began coughing because of the gas I was inhaling and I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open.

"Arbok, come out and show that brat we mean business!" Before anything else could have happened, I recalled my pokemon leaving the snake pokemon to come out and hit a branch above. I could only squint at what was happening to the Rockets but I was able to see two figures appear in a second and seeing all of the figures disappear within the next. About a minute later, the smog had finally disappeared but the next thing I saw made me even more upset that made me clenched my fists. They were gone… shit!

"Gary! What happened?" I turned around to see Misty and Brock heading towards me.

"We saw a bunch of smog coming from over here and we thought there was a battle going on." said the would be pokemon breeder.

"There was…" I said spitefully. "I was facing Team Rocket because for some reason… I thought that they might have known where Ash could have been." I could feel blood start to come out from my fists… thankfully it was nighttime. I wouldn't want Ash's two friends to know about this.

"Wait… you battled Team Rocket again? AND you thought they knew where Ash was? Why would you think that?" asked the hot headed girl.

"Because I saw Josh and…" I was immediately cut off by the red headed girl.

"YOU FOUGHT THEM TO BATTLE JOSH JUST FOR REVENGE!?!?" My tolerance for his friends is diminishing very quickly. "HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN ABOUT ASH?!"

"SHUT UP! I am getting tired of you always getting on my nerves! How could I have forgotten about Ash!? I was battling Team Rocket because Josh came along and he said that he followed Ash into the forest and he said that he was talking to someone and I thought that could have been Ash and that's why I battled them. I wanted to know where he was!" I walked away quickly to continue my search for Ash. I didn't need those two to help me. Damn it Ash… where are you?**  
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**RegiGod**: So how did you like this chapter? Tell me whether you liked it or not in a review! 


	3. Emotions

**RegiGod: **I find it to be ironic that I have a few people who have this story on alert that aren't reviewing. Now that just makes me depressed... hopefully, those people will review this time.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon or its characters but I do own Josh and the plot

**Warning**: This story contains slash/yaoi/shounen-ai which means boy x boy. If you do not like it, please do not leave any flames seeing as how I have already warned you and if you do proceed to continue as such, then you're pretty dumb.

**Coupling**: Palletshipping/ Ash x Gary / ShiShi

**Beta Reader:** I don't have one and I will never get one. How am I supposed to improve my writing skills if I get one?

**Note:** Remember! More reviews make me happy!

_Turn Back Time_

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**Ash's POV**

"What's the twerp doing here?" I stared at the usual team rocket trio who always fails at capturing my Pikachu time and time again. Pikachu stood atop my shoulder as we both watched the team rocket members warily.

"Did you capture him for us?" I glanced over at James who had asked the question as I observed our surroundings. It was probably the middle of the night by now. I wonder if… my friends were looking for me. Why am I even asking that? Of course they are… if one of my friends were missing, I know I would be looking for them even if it took me all night. That's when my conscience had hit me.

"Do you three have bad memory or something? I did say I wasn't going to do your job for you. Although… I did have something else in mind for Ash here." I didn't even notice Josh was staring at me when I looked past him. If my friends were still looking for me at this time… I don't think I should leave just yet. I have to see them… before I leave. I wouldn't want them to keep on searching for me forever. Should I really leave and travel with Josh instead of my friends? That question kept on pestering me ever since Josh had asked me to travel with him. I did decide at first that I wasn't going to go but when I talked to Gardevoir, the pokemon said something that made me change my mind but I didn't know what exactly.

"What do you mean?" I heard a woman's voice as I continued to contemplate on my thoughts. It just feels wrong leaving them like this… especially when we had just arrived in this region and when it was during the time when Gary had been the worst to me. They might even blame Gary for my absence and I wouldn't want them to do that. I know that even though Gary may be my rival and may be an ass to me all the time recently, I can't have my friends blaming him. I still love him… if only Gary would understand my feelings but he won't. He's changed ever since our childhood and nothing will revert him back. That's the way life goes I suppose. I guess it's true what they say… you can't always get what you want.

"I decided to take him in with us and together, we're going to travel throughout the Johto region!" I could hear Josh's tone of happiness when he had said that. Why was this guy even happy that I was going to be traveling with him? Better yet… why is he even trying to help me? A total stranger that I just met earlier today is… helping me with my life. Sounds like something out of a fairy tale or something.

"What!?" Simultaneously, the rocket trio was shocked at what my new friend had said. If I were them, I know I would be too. Having an enemy start traveling with you suddenly would be all too weird. I sighed as I finally realized what I must do. I have to talk to my friends before leaving and hopefully, they'll be willing to let me go. And I have to avoid Gary the whole time while doing that… I don't think my heart can take another insult. Although, I don't think I should mention that I'm going to be traveling with Team Rocket members. They might start to think I'm a bad guy now.

"Oh don't be too shocked. I mean, wouldn't it be fun? Besides, assuming that you two have known each other for quite some time, I'm pretty sure you can get along. You don't even seem that much of an enemy to me. I think you just enjoy each other's company and you two just like battling with one another." I doubt that we enjoy each other's company. I wonder how the first few days will go traveling with these guys.

"I'd rather be fed to fish before I start working wit dat twerp!" A cat being fed to fish… such a nice thought.

"What are we going to get out of traveling with the twerp?" Before Josh could answer, another question was asked. "And if we were going to travel with him, what would the boss think?" Again, another question. "How are we supposed to please him? Are we supposed to say we have a new member in our organization?" Josh opened his mouth but closed it immediately when another question appeared. "That reminds me… is he even going to join our organization. If not, then why travel with him?" Jessie really knew how to bombard someone with questions sometimes.

"Are you done asking questions?" Josh didn't look at all pleased with the way he had been attacked with questions just now.

"For now." Josh gave an annoyed look before he cleared his throat and continuing.

"Listen to me before you start speaking. I'll handle the boss by giving him the perfect excuse while we travel through this region helping Ash getting his badges and helping him get closer to his dream of becoming a pokemon master AND don't ask questions why. We're just going to do it, understand?" The trio looked at one another who seemed unsure of what to say to that. Josh sighed before adding one last thing. "If you don't listen to me, I'll have you face the boss himself. Would you like that?" That's when the trio looked fearful.

"Uh no that's okay!"

"Yeah! There's no harm in traveling wit the twerp!"

"His name is Ash… I would rather prefer it if you called him by his name." They looked at one another before nodding their heads.

"Of course! We'll call him by his name from now on and we would love to travel with you two!" Jessie smiled and when she noticed the other two weren't doing the same thing, she elbowed them.

"Ow! I mean… definitely!" James and Meowth rubbed their stomachs while giving a forced smile which pleased Josh. I gave a grin as I began to wonder what kind of adventures will happen throughout our travels together. It might even be exciting.

"Now, I'll be right back while I phone the boss saying I'll have to train you two on how to train your pokemon correctly so you can capture Ash's Pikachu which you won't of course." Jessie and James glanced at one another as I smiled at the way Josh was protecting me from so many things like not having to join their evil organization and stopping them from capturing my Pikachu for so long while helping me. I think there are only a handful of people like Josh on this world. "Now wait here and don't leave." As soon as I saw him turn his back to us, I suddenly remembered what I had to do.

"Josh!" He turned to me as I walked over to where he was. "Um…" I started off nervously… "Would you mind if… I told my friends that I'm not going to be traveling with them anymore?" He smiled before he gave me his response.

"Of course not. We'll wait until you're ready with everything before we leave. Just make sure you don't mention us traveling with you. Make up an excuse or something." I nodded my head as he continued on his way into another part of the forest. When he was out of sight, complaints were soon heard.

"Who does he think he is forcing us to travel wit ya!" I turned around to see the trio on their feet already grumbling.

"We have no choice Meowth… we have to do what he says. Who knows? We might even have fun." Meowth looked away from James as I began to walk away in search of my friends.

"Hey wait!" I looked back to see both James and Jessie right behind me which kind of frightened me. "You said you were going to tell your friends that you were leaving them right?" I nodded slowly at their question. "Why don't you let us do that instead? If you were to go see them yourself, there's a good chance that they'll say no but if we go in your stead, they can't change our minds." I slowly took this in and realized they were right. Perhaps it would be better if they went instead of me. Sometimes, I'm just astounded at how Team Rocket can be smart at times. But wait… what if they say something wrong to them? Great… now I don't know what to do.

"Pika… pi." I glanced over at Pikachu who seemed to be saying to let them talk to my friends. I sighed out loud as I decided to trust Pikachu's decision. My little friend atop of me knew what step to take when I didn't know what to do. He's really helpful at times like these.

"Fine… but don't go saying bad things all right?" James and Jessie smiled at one another and then to me before they saluted at me as if I was their commanding officer.

"We'll be back soon!" Rapidly, they both jumped into their hot air balloon along with Meowth and a few seconds later, they were up in the air. I hope they don't say anything I wouldn't want them to say.

**Josh's POV**

"Hello boss." I held my cell phone up to my ear away from any other living human being besides myself who would want to eavesdrop on my conversation. I knew it was still around 8 at night in Kanto so calling him at this time at night would be okay and it wouldn't get him upset.

Without even a hello or an introduction, my boss got right to business. "I'm hoping that you have a good report from those twits." I heard a Persian in the background but I decided to ignore the sound knowing it was his favorite pet to uh… pet.

"Not exactly sir. You see, this trio that you sent me to oversee are very poor at pokemon battling but fear not, by the end of this year, I'll have them match even Butch and Cassidy's wits and pokemon battling skills! That is of course, if you let me." Hopefully, this excuse would work and would give us the time we needed to travel across Johto.

"Hmm… don't you usually take one month to train someone?" I felt a sweat drop my face as I quickly thought up another excuse.

"Yes but these three are so very horrible that I may need to take up to a year." Please… oh please take this excuse. A few moments passed before the next exchange of words took place.

"Fine." I jumped inwardly and gave myself a pat on the back for fooling the boss himself. "But… you have to do one thing by next year around this time." I gulped before I asked what it was that I had to do. "I want you along with those three twits to come back to Kanto and compete in the Indigo League. I'll have other member go undercover and participate in the League as well." This puzzled me… why would he want Team Rocket members participating in an event such as this?

"May I ask why sir?"

"It's obvious of course." I could feel him smile even though we were a region apart. I still had no idea why he wanted us to do such a thing. "I'll have you defeat the Elite Four in this region so that we may take it over! No one will be able to stop us when we take down the Elite Four." Rapidly, a setback appeared in my head.

"But what about the Elite Four in the Johto region? If they find out what has happened, won't they come to Kanto to try and stop us?" I swear… my boss was insane with his ideas of dominating the world. I can say the same thing for Team Aqua and Team Magma back in the Hoenn region.

"Hah! By the time they find out what has happened, we'll have Team Rocket members swarming all across Kanto! Even their pokemon can't battle for a long duration of time!" I looked down at the dirt below me as I started to fumble with it. I have to say yes to this… if I don't, I won't be able to help Ash. Damn it all.

"But what about the police officers?" I asked, trying to get him to change his mind or maybe prolong his plan even.

"Oh come now Josh. You know as well as I do that the police are just a minor annoyance." It took me a few more seconds before I give him my answer.

"Don't worry sir. I'll be there." I said with an almost uncertainty of what I was agreeing myself to do.

"Good! I'll see you then." The line was soon disconnected as I could only grasp my forehead and look at the predicament that I have delved myself into.

**Gary's POV**

It must have been 1 AM at nighttime by now but I refuse to give up looking for Ash. I have to find him no matter what! But here I am, sitting with Ash's friends near a campfire as I waited for them to formulate a plan. They practically forced me to stay here and wait after I declined their "generous" offer. I exasperatedly sighed as I could have found Ash by now! Maybe… just maybe… I would have found him.

"Yoo hoo!" I looked up at the source of the intrusion of our silence to see Team Rocket's hot air balloon. This is my chance! They might know where Ash could be and this time, I won't let them get away! I quickly grabbed a pokeball from my waist but before I could have thrown it, a voice stopped me.

"Gary!" I looked back down quickly to see Misty fuming mad at me for some reason. "Don't even think about throwing that pokeball so calm yourself!" Maybe you're the one who should calm down… I bit on my tongue to stop myself from saying that as I didn't want another pointless argument that would waste more of my time. "If they do know where Ash is like you said, then having a pokemon battle is pointless." Another voice came up as I stared past Misty.

"Besides, if they came to us, it means that they want something from us." Slowly but surely, the Team Rocket balloon soon landed near our site as the trio jumped from the basket.

"What do you three want?" asked Misty in such a way that she was practically saying to leave us alone. And I thought she wanted to find Ash just as much as I did.

"We come bearing a message." said the red haired woman. Why can't I remember any of their names?

"Is that so?" asked Brock as they took steps towards one another. "Well, what's the message then?" The trio looked at one another and smiled when they turned back to us. What are these three up to?

"We have come to say that you will no longer be seeing your precious twerp. He'll be coming with us from now on and don't even think about looking for him! If you do, you'll just be wasting your time." The trio laughed as I felt rage run throughout me. I KNEW that they had Ash… and now they'll pay! I swiftly threw the pokeball I was still holding in my hand to release my most faithful pokemon Eevee.

"So you want a pokemon battle huh? Fine wit me!" Meowth took a few quick steps forward which for some reason surprised the two humans behind him.

"Meowth… you're… actually going to fight?"

"Of course I am Jimmy boy!" Boy…? That instantly reminded me of the way I always called Ash Ashy-boy as if it was some sort of a pet name. "There's no way this weak little Eevee can beat me!" The cat pokemon laughed as I gave a glare. Weak? I'll show you who's weak!

"Eevee, quick attack!"

"Meowth, dodge!" I blinked a couple of times to see the cat pokemon call out to itself like it was its own trainer. Meowth was able to dodge my pokemon's attack but not this time.

"Another quick attack from behind!" As soon as Meowth turned around, Eevee was able to hit on mark making the pokemon fly, hitting a nearby tree.

"Meowth!" The blue haired man became upset when the cat pokemon seemed to be injured but I didn't care… they were Team Rocket. I will show no mercy to anyone in that pitiful organization. "That's it! You'll pay for that! Weezing, come out and use sludge!" Unexpectedly, another pokemon came out and the sludge came as quick as the pokemon had appeared, hitting Eevee across its eyes.

"Eevee! You all right?" My pokemon nodded as it recovered somewhat from the attack. Somehow, I think it knew what I was fighting for. It wouldn't give up on me.

"So you don't want to play fair like always huh?" I looked besides me to see both Misty and Brock holding a pokeball in their hands.

"Go Onix!" Suddenly, a large rock pokemon appeared crushing down trees nearby in its wake.

"Go Staryu!" Another pokemon appeared levitating near the Onix. I smiled to see Ash's friends actually being useful for once.

"Unfair? You're the ones being unfair now sending out two pokemon but I'll make it even! Go Arbok and Lickitung!" Tch, even she says…

"Yeah… having one more pokemon than us is definitely even." Misty said in a very sarcastic tone.

"Even in _my_ terms! Arbok, use poison sting on Eevee! Lickitung, use lick on Staryu!"

"Weezing, use smokescreen on Onix!" As quick as those Team Rocket members shouted out commands, I did the same.

"Eevee, dodge those stings and use agility and strike back at Arbok!"

"Staryu, use swift attack on that tongue! And follow up with water gun!"

"Onix, use dig and escape the smokescreen!" I felt my heart beat at the excitement at this battle. It's like me… fighting to save the damsel in distress but for me, the damsel is someone named Ash Ketchum.

"Arbok, use wrap before Eevee gets too close to you!" It was too late for my pokemon was able to strike at Arbok's face. Suddenly, Meowth came out unexpectedly and attacked my pokemon using fury swipes.

"Eevee!" I could tell that the battle was starting to take its toll on my pokemon as Eevee fell to the ground after that attack. "Eevee, if you can't take it anymore, I'll swap pokemon!" Eevee nodded its head as it slowly stood up on its feet. I felt myself smiling once more at how Eevee would not give up.

"Nice going Meowth." The blue haired man commended the cat pokemon at how it was able to attack my pokemon. As I looked at the other pokemon, I could see that Lickitung was being hurt by the water gun Staryu kept shooting.

"Now Onix! Come up and hit Weezing!" The ground trembled as I started to lose my balance but regained it quickly soon after. Suddenly, a huge snake-rock like pokemon came out of the ground hitting its mark forcing Weezing to fly back into the blue haired man. Yes! We just might win!

"Eevee, use swift!" Stars were soon shot out at all of Team Rocket's pokemon as they all flew back near their balloon.

"Ugh… Jessie, I don't think we can take much more of this! We gotta get out of here!" Thinking about leaving? Well I won't let that happen… not until I find out where they're holding Ash!

"Not yet! We still have one chance left!" I waited for their next move with much impatience. "Tell your Weezing to use Explosion!" At the sound of that, I could feel my hair stand up all over my body. If an explosion was cast here, it would leave a considerable amount of damage to the forest. Not that I care about it or anything…

"Are you crazy Jessie?" Meowth moaned as it climbed out from underneath the pokemon. "If Weezing used an explosion here, we too would get caught in it!" Before the red headed girl had time to speak, another voice spoke up.

"Why don't you just surrender and tell us where Ash is!?" screamed the red headed girl. I wonder if this girl also has feelings for Ash… if she does, then I wonder if Ash has feelings for Misty… I shook these thoughts away and focused on the battle.

"Now why would we do that?" That voice! I clearly remember who this voice belonged to. Slowly, a figure appeared out of the shadows right next to Team Rocket. Josh… I gritted my teeth at the sight of him. I'll make him pay for making me suffer defeat. I could hear Misty and Brock gasp at the sight of him and saw that they started to shake a bit. Perhaps they know as well that if we can't beat Josh, we won't find out where Ash is! And he's the strongest member in Team Rocket next to their leader! Shit… how the hell are we going to beat this guy?

"Josh! Impeccable timing!" Both of the Team Rocket members recalled all of their pokemon as Josh gave a grin.

"Hmm I suppose so but I'm left wondering… why are you here battling them?"

"Well you see…" They quickly lowered their voices and that made me upset at the way they were hiding something from us. About a few seconds later, it seemed that their conversation was over.

"I see… well why don't you go back and I'll handle this?" They nodded their heads without argument as they jumped into their basket began to fly away. I gritted my teeth one more time at the way those losers were leaving their best guy here to do all the work again! "I'm guessing you got the message that Ash wasn't going to come back to you right?" At this question, Misty's voice flared up.

"You had better tell us where he is or I'll…" Josh quickly cut her off as I watched his movements with such scrutiny.

"Or you'll what? Defeat me in a pokemon battle. I doubt that highly." That had shut up Misty good but if I were in her position, that would have shut me up as well. "Let me put it to you in the easiest way possible. Ash Ketchum wishes to bid you two," He pointed at the two friends besides me before continuing. "farewell and that he will not be continuing his journeys with you any longer." I was instantly shocked. This guy is lying… there's no way Ash would ever leave his friends.

"You lie!" Misty flared up once more at the boy ahead of us who just shrugged. In the next second, he pointed at me next which sent a cold shiver up my spine.

"I don't even know why _you're_ looking for him. Besides, didn't you say you wished you hadn't met him? Then this is your chance, leave." I gave the strongest glare I could have possibly given to anyone but it didn't have any effect on him.

"Who are you to pass judgment on me? You know nothing about us and our friendship!" I screamed at him without mercy in my voice. Josh snorted as he replied.

"Friendship? If that's what you call friendship, then I can only imagine what you call an enemy." He laughed to himself which only made clutch my hands even harder. "Whatever. My job here is done." As he began walking away, I became so mad that my whole body started to shake vigorously.

"You come back here! Who the hell do you think you are taking Ash from us!?" I could feel the stares of both Misty and Brock piercing at the side of me as Josh stopped walking. He turned around slowly and gave a smile which only made me wonder what he was up to now.

"So you want to know where Ash is huh? Fine, but on one condition." I gulped as I waited for him to continue. "I'll face all three of you in a pokemon battle and I'll only use one pokemon. If one of you happens to beat me, then I'll tell you where he is. If you lose, then I take one pokemon from each of you, deal?"

"Hell no! I'm not going to lose my pokemon to a person in Team Rocket!" Misty screamed as Brock recalled his pokemon. I was lost at what to do at this point… should I accept his challenge? If I lose… I lose a pokemon… but if I win, I get to know where Ash is but the chances of me winning… are almost none to say the least. I can't let my pride get the best of me this time… I have to be smart.

"I guess none of you are going to battle me. Oh well." Josh shrugged once more as he began to walk away. I'm not going to let him get the best of me! I silently began to follow him despite the whispers that were coming from Ash's friends telling me to stay behind. I have to find out where he is.**  
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**RegiGod:** So how was this chapter? Please review!! That's the only thing that makes me happy and want to continue a story such as this! lol 


	4. Choices

**RegiGod: **I apologize for such a late update but when I was looking through my stories tonight, I was thinking that I should update some of them at least… so here's an update. Hope you readers out there enjoy it.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon or its characters but I do own Josh and the plot.

**Warning: **This story contains boy x boy so if you don't like it, don't read it.

**Coupling:** Palletshipping / AshGary / ShiShi

**Beta Reader: **I don't use a beta reader so I apologize if you find any mistakes in this chapter.

**Note:** Remember, reviews make me happy!!

_Turn Back Time - Chapter 4 (Choices)_**  
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**Josh's POV**

As I walked from Ash's friends' camp, I could hear footsteps rustling from the leaves behind me. I sighed mentally as I knew who it could be… Gary of course. Why does he always give chase? Does he have the same feelings for Ash as Ash does for him? I shook my head violently as I tried to get these thoughts out of my head. This doesn't concern me right now… I'll think about stuff like this in the future when the time arrives. For now, I have to head back to Ash and the others before Ash's friends find us but I have to rid myself of this pest first.

"Gary, may I help you with something?" I suddenly turned around to meet the eyes of the boy in the purple shirt. He seemed very shocked that I had turned to see him. I guess he thought that I didn't hear his footsteps behind me. Kind of foolish if you ask me…

"I already told you. I want you to release from Ash right this minute." Boy, he seemed really upset. I mean, he was practically saying the words through his teeth.

"And like I said once before, why do you even care?" Gary quickly responded, much to my surprise.

"It's none of your damn business! Now let him go right now!" I began to chuckle at the emotions running through him. I always did take joy in other people's emotions whether they were bad or good… no idea why though.

"You talk as if I'm holding Ash right here in front of me. You're an idiot you know. How can I release someone who is not even here? Do you even hear yourself talk?" That's when Gary decided to throw all of his pokeballs at the ground in front of me revealing a variety of pokemon. Hmm… his pokemon seem to be poorly and aggressively trained… at least I now know why he lost to me earlier today.

"That's it! I'm getting tired of your insults and with the way you talk to me! I will force respect out of you!" This time, I just could not stop laughing at the way this guy was getting so upset over words.

"Respect? Out of me? That's hilarious!" I continued to laugh as Gary's face turned red. "Tell me this Gary, have you shown respect to anyone? Have you shown respect to Ash? Have you talked to Ash in a kind way without throwing an insult at him? I really don't think so. And that's why you won't see Ash ever again… maybe in a year from now you will." The last statement seemed to have made Gary both upset and befuddled. Hmm… I wonder what his reaction will be if I say this. "Oh and by the way, Ash will soon be my lover." At that statement, Gary seemed to be at a loss of words and emotions, which brought a smile to my face.

"Love… er? What… do you mean… by that?" My smile never left my face even when I began to talk.

"Oh nothing that deserves too much attention. Well, I'll be taking my leave now. See you soon… Gary." I gave him a wink as I began to walk away, leaving him with his pokemon in the moonlight.

"Turning your back on the enemy is not very wise…" I suddenly heard a rush of footsteps quickly heading my way in which I decided to throw a pokeball behind me revealing my faithful Minun.

"Minun!" My pokemon gleefully yelled out its own name as it prepared itself for battle. I could easily tell that Gary was already underestimating my pokemon based on its small size. That will be a big mistake that he will pay dearly for.

"Hah! What the hell is that? Another rat to exterminate? Fine with me! Eevee!" The brown colored pokemon jumped in front of its comrades before going into its own battle stance. "Quick attack!" As the brown pokemon charged at my pokemon, I waited patiently waited for the right time to come.

"Minun, use thunder wave and stop that pokemon!" Minun jumped happily and sent out waves of thunder, which immediately stopped Eevee in its tracks.

"Eevee! No!" As I glanced at Gary, I could see that he does care for his pokemon… hmm… this boy has such strange characteristics. Perhaps he has an ulterior motive behind his actions.

"You see Gary… you shouldn't underestimate a pokemon based on its size for if you do, you will pay dearly. Minun, finish that pokemon with thunder." As my pokemon began to charge its electric attack, I could see fear running through Gary's face. I guess he shouldn't have followed me.

"Blastoise, use hydro pump now!" Out of nowhere, my Minun was soon struck by a powerful force of water, which threw him into a nearby tree. I seethed through my teeth already knowing whose Blastoise it belonged to - him. What the hell could he be doing here? Did he follow me from the Hoenn region? Impossible but that's the only explanation that's logical.

"What the…" Gary seems shocked as well and his pokemon was soon able to recover itself from the thunder wave.

"Well, well… look who I ran into. Josh, Josh, Josh." I quickly recalled my Minun as Gary did the same thing with his pokemon. I think Gary likes to mimic me… I swiftly looked away at the approaching figure that was soon right in front of me.

Gary's POV 

"Josh… do you remember me now?" Who was this guy? He just saved my Eevee from the strongest electrical attack there is… but why? Because it was night, I couldn't clearly tell who the figure was but I could tell that he was taller than Josh. Before Josh could answer his question, he quickly recalled his Blastoise back to its pokeball.

"For the last time, I do not know you at all. I do not know why you keep persisting me about it but I have no memories of you at all. I have to say, you just don't know when to quit do you?" Wow… I think this is the first time I saw Josh get somewhat upset today.

"I feel hurt now Josh. If I remember correctly, that's something you would say to me." What the hell is going on here? Ugh, I have no time for this… I have to find Ash!

"Look, just leave me alone. I don't want to do anything that deals with you." As soon as Josh turned his back to this new figure, the new guy quickly pulled Josh back with his hand on his shoulder. "Let me go… now." Josh said that so spitefully that it even struck a nerve in me.

"Why should I?" But of course, this new guy doesn't seem affected by Josh's tone of spite. Josh quickly removed the new figure's hand by his shoulder and began to walk away quickly with the figure in tow. Hmm… this is my chance to follow Josh back to Ash. "Aww… come on Josh. Don't leave me here all alone in the woods." I kept up with their pace as I stealthily dodged anything that was in my way.

"Matt, seriously, leave me alone before I fucking jump you." So Matt was his name… hmm… I wonder what the deal is between the both of them.

"I think I would like for you to jump me." Was it just me… or did he just say that in a husky tone? Yeah… I think it was just me. Josh sighed tiredly as he quickened his pace as I did the same.

"Tell me, when are you going to give up? I'm sure you have other people to stalk other than me." Matt chuckled as he began to reply.

"Is someone jealous that I give other people more attention?" Yep, this is one weird conversation that I'm listening to. And when the hell are we going to reach Ash!?

"Oh trust me, I would love to get no attention from you."

"Now don't say that. I know you love me." Josh exasperatedly sighed as he shook his head. "See? You didn't object to that which means you do love me."

"I don't love you all right! I don't even know who the hell you are!"

"Don't be so upset Josh. Hey… do you remember when you used to give me complements every time I changed something about my looks? Like when I got a haircut or wore different clothes."

"Not even in hell would I give you a complement." Whoever this Matt guy was, he's doing a pretty good job at annoying the hell out of Josh.

"I miss those complements you know."

"You know what? Fu…" Before Josh could finish cursing Matt off, a hot air balloon suddenly crash-landed in front of the figures in front of me. I'm surprised that they didn't get hit… wait a minute… that's Team Rocket's balloon! I recognize that Meowth head anywhere! "Can this night get any worse for me?"

"Want me to make it all better?"

"Would you shut the fuck up Matt?" He really likes to curse when he's upset doesn't he? As groans soon arose from the hot air balloon, I soon saw three figures standing up from the debris.

"Look at what yous did now Jimmy!" That's Meowth talking right now…

"My fault! This was all of your fault! If you weren't scratching my face, I would have seen where I was going!" And that's the blue haired guy talking…

"Would you two shut up! I think we all know who is to blame here…" And that's the red haired nasty girl talking. But where the hell is Ash?

"Oh? And who would that be Jessie?" asked the blue haired man quizzically.

"Who do you think!? The twerp of course!" The… twerp…? Ash…? "Where is he anyway?" The smoke soon dissipated into the air as I soon saw Ash come up from under the balloon rubbing his head with his Pikachu doing the same thing. I could feel my heart skip a beat when I saw him… Ash… you don't know how happy I am to see you right now…

"You!" The red haired girl suddenly grabbed Ash by the shirt and started to shake him violently, which got me a little upset. "You're to blame for all of this! You're going to pay for all of the damages you made!" Suddenly, the balloon and the basket flew high into the air that revealed the pokemon that had single handedly beaten me earlier…

"Hey look! It's your Gardevoir Josh!" So that's the pokemon's name… interesting.

"Really? I didn't know. Thanks for telling me." What a sarcastic bitch he is when he's upset…

"Josh?" said the trio of Team Rocket simultaneously as they looked upon their so-called greatest member.

"Oh Josh!" The red haired girl quickly let go of Ash who began to pat himself down of any injuries. "We've been looking all over for you and…" She took a quick pause to glance at Matt before continuing her sentence. "And who's that? It better not be another one joining our group. We already have this twerp now…" Did I… just hear that correctly? Ash… joined their group?

"What did I tell you to call him? By his name right?"

"Uh… oh that's right! I guess I… forgot?" She chuckled nervously as the other two of the trio could only stare at the scenario unfolding in front of them. As quickly as a heartbeat, my eyes met with Ash's as he looked in our direction. Ash…

"It's time for us to take our leave. Matt… Gary… don't follow us because if either of you do, I will make sure you'll pay." Matt could only shrug as I could only keep on staring at Ash. He seemed to be nervous… and I guess he had a right to be after what I did to him. "I shouldn't even say that because I know you two would follow us anyway. Fine… I have an alternative. Gardevoir, knock them out with psychic!" Before I knew what was happening, I was soon knocked to the ground by its psychic powers and my eyes had quickly closed.

A Few Hours Later… 

"Hey… hey!" I began to groan from the immense headache I was feeling… and the person who is shouting at me isn't really helping it. "You better get up right now… we have company."

"What…?" I squinted my eyes to see what was happening and I saw a guy who had burgundy hair, brown eyes, a red t-shirt on, and some blue jeans with sneakers. "What's going on?"

"It seems Josh sent some company to make sure we were to disappear and if you don't get up, you'll be exterminated." All of a sudden, I could hear loud groaning noises coming from a large machine.

"What… what the hell was that?" I rubbed my head as I began to slowly get up from my position.

"That would be Team Rocket's new and latest machine… they call it the Big Daddy. We better get out of here… now!" As he began to run away, I too began to follow behind. Was this guy… Matt? I soon looked behind us and I saw a machine that was at least seven feet tall and it had a human figure. It had a drill in replace of its right hand and it sort of had six eyes like an insect of some sort but they were like dots and there were three in two columns. Looked like it was a guy in a diving suit…

"You gotta move faster man! If that thing sees you, it'll call some of its Team Rocket members." As soon as he said that, the machine turned to look in our general direction and when it did, it groaned once more. Before I knew it, there were Team Rocket members right in front of us. "Shit… now look what you did."

"How the hell is this my fault?" We both stopped running as soon as were too close to Team Rocket.

"Well, well… look who it is. The pest who always bothers our admin Josh… you know, he said if we defeated you in a pokemon battle, we would be rewarded greatly." When I felt the ground rumble behind me, I turned to see what it was and saw that it was the machine running towards us with great agility. Damn… every time that thing took a step, the ground shook. How much did it weigh…?

"Oh he said that huh? I doubt any of you could beat me in a pokemon battle." The machine stopped as soon as it was fifty feet away from us. Man… what the hell is going on? I'm so lost right now it's not even funny.

"We'll see about that. We'll use our Big Daddy against one of your pokemon in a one vs. one match. So how about it? Are you going to do it? Or are you too chicken?" The burgundy haired boy could only scoff as he called out a pokemon that I was able to recognize… electrode. "An electric type huh? Figures you would use our Big Daddy's one and only weakness.

"I'll end this before it even starts. Electrode, use thunder!" The ball shaped pokemon soon jumped into the air and shot out an immense thunderbolt at the machine behind us and before I knew it, it was burnt into a crisp.

"What!? But that's impossible! Only Josh has the power to stop a Big Daddy in one attack… you must be his equal. No wonder he's willing to give a large reward if one of us defeated you…"

"Not really his equal per say. Any trainer could defeat this machine of yours if they raised their pokemon well with experience. I bet that not even you could defeat your own machine." Team Rocket could only chuckle as I could see that there were at least ten of them.

"That may be true but it's under our control and it could defeat any trainer except for people like you which is probably one out of a million."

"Whatever. Are you going to do something or are we going to stand here and chat the whole day? I have more important things to do."

"Like what Matt?" So… this was the Matt from last night. He's acting a lot different than he was with Josh. "Are you going to go back and stalk him like you always do?" Wait… Matt's a stalker? That's kind of weird…

"Not really stalk… I just like to be in his presence." Silence soon occurred as it seemed like Matt was having an eye staring contest with Team Rocket. I gulped at the situation I was currently in… man, how did I get myself into this?

"Gary! There you are!"

"Huh?" I turned around to see Ash's friends along with officer Jenny. I never thought I would feel relieved to see some familiar faces… even if they were Ash's dorky friends… Ash… where could you be right now?

"Shit! It's Officer Jenny! Let's get out of here before she gets us!" I quickly turned back to Team Rocket to see the gang running away like cowards.

"Yeah you better run!" shouted Matt as he began to chuckle. Looks like someone's happy…

"Gary!" Misty, Brock, and officer Jenny were soon in front of us asking me multiple questions. "What was Team Rocket doing here? And where's Ash? And what's that thing on the ground?" Misty pointed to the darkened object that was once called a Big Daddy.

"Does it look like I know? All I know right now is that I was following Josh and before I knew what was going on, he had his pokemon use psychic and I was knocked out."

"What!?" Great… the girl doesn't seem satisfied by my answer. "What do you mean? Explain!"

"Geez… stop screaming already. No wonder I gave up on girls…" I looked over to Matt who seemed to be looting whatever the machine had.

"Who are you?" asked Brock as Matt stood up fully to answer.

"My name's Matt. And to answer your annoying questions, Team Rocket was here because Josh sent them to exterminate me and this guy." He pointed over to me before continuing his statement. "And Ash… well, I don't even know who he is. And this thing on the ground is called a Big Daddy, Team Rocket's newest machine that can obliterate any trainer's pokemon with ease."

"So this thing belongs to Team Rocket huh?" Matt nodded to Officer Jenny's question. "Then I better take this into custody and investigate this situation concerning their new technology." Matt didn't seem to care as he began to walk away from us.

"Hey wait!" I suddenly said without thinking. Matt turned to face me as I, for some reason, became kind of nervous. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" He seemed to be unsure on what to say to me but he nodded. We both walked somewhere private where the others couldn't hear our conversation. As soon as we found out spot, we turned to face one another.

"So… what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well… I just want to know what you know about Josh." Matt seemed to be confused by my question so I decided to give my reason why. "I want to know because Josh took a friend of mine called Ash and before we were knocked out, I remember Josh saying that Ash had joined their group." Matt looked intrigued by what I said as he stared at me for a moment before responding.

"Is there anything else?" Now it was my turn to be confused. "Did you hear anything else? You have to tell me everything you know because if you don't, I won't be able to help you at all." Shit… does he also want to know what Josh said about Ash… about becoming his… lover? I felt sick just by the thought of it.

"He did say something else but I don't think it's important for you to know." The boy in front of me gave a face saying he didn't believe me at all.

"Tell me or I won't tell you anything." I got a bit mad but if he wants to know, fine.

"Josh said that he was going to make Ash his lover." That was when I got a very surprising reaction from Matt. He seemed very shocked by what I just said.

"He… said that?" I nodded. "No… he wouldn't… would he?" I don't know if it's just me but I think he's a bit troubled by this news. "Um… I have an idea. You're going to find your friend right?" I nodded. "How about I help you by traveling with you until we find them?"

"Sure." I said without any hesitation. If he was going to help me find my Ash, then I'll take up his offer.

"Awesome. So what's your name anyway?"

"My name's Gary. Nice to meet you." I stretched out my hand and shook his when he did the same. I don't know but I think I'm acting differently than I normally do.

Meanwhile… 

"Well, we're here in Violet City." The group looked around at their new surroundings as they continued further into the town. "Are you ready to face the Gym Leader Ash?"

"Of course I am Josh! I'm ready to take on anyone at anytime!" Josh smiled as he looked at the trio behind them. "I can't believe at how fast we got here though."

"That's something you would expect when you ride in a car you know." Josh and Ash laughed together as the Team Rocket trio seemed a bit nervous to be in the town.

"What's wrong with you three?" asked Josh as he could only stare at the trio.

"Well… our clothes are giving us away you know." Josh finally noticed when he saw people murmuring words about Team Rocket.

"Then get a change of clothes and meet us at the gym all right?" The trio nodded as they ran back into the woods. "I don't think those three are going to come back."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Oh nothing. It's just a feeling is all. Now let's head off to the gym!"**  
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**RegiGod: **So, how was this chapter? Like it? I hope so! 


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